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The Celebratory




      Highland Spring




      Fling 2017



                                                               By Lochaber Community Wind Band





























      On Friday 12th and Saturday 13th May, 20   Lux Aurumque (Eric Whitacre)     Four Dances From West Side Story
      Brass, Woodwind & Percussion Players from                                                  (Leonard Bernstein)
      all over Scotland and beyond ventured to          Lux Aurumque began its life
      Lochaber. They were heading along the             as an a cappella choral work
      winding roads to Fort William and the wild        that was written in the autumn          From 1961, West Side
      and wonderful Highlands. They had been            of 2000, when the Texas                 Story is the award-winning
                                                                                                adaptation of the classic
      invited by the Lochaber Community Wind            Music Educators Association             Shakespeare romantic
      Band to come and join us for a weekend            and a consortium of bands               tragedy, “Romeo and
                                                        commissioned Eric Whitacre to
      of music making at the foot of Ben Nevis          adapt it for symphonic winds.           Juliet” and the underlying
      and to celebrate our 21st year of operation,                                              dynamics of social and
      under the leadership of guest conductor   The Olympic Flame (Franner Otter)  racial strife. Now a concert piece in its own
      Charles Hine of Colchester, Essex.                Franner won the BASBWE RAF   right, the symphonic dance music has been
                                                        Composers Competition in   excerpted and scored for band by Ian Polster.
      As community band conductors all over             2012 with her stunning overture   The “Scherzo” is the first of four movements;
                                                                                 it displays a characteristic lively and animated
      the country will know from experience,            ‘The Olympic Flame’ for wind   rhythm in triple time interspersed with soft,
      it’s hard to pick music for an unbalanced         band. The winning piece was   almost tentative rhythms. The transition into
      ensemble with players of widely disparate         premiered by the Central Band   the “Mambo” is abrupt and dominated by the
      musical abilities and tastes. Playing in such     of the RAF to high acclaim.  percussion and brass. The third movement,”Cha-
      a group is also a very different experience   Tuba Odyssey, The Journey Of Innertuba   Cha” is soft and graceful, in contrast to what has
      from playing in a full band. The “Celebratory   (Franner Otter)         (Soloist: Jon Hodkin)  preceded it. The “Fugue” is built upon a swing
      Highland Spring Fling” set out to provide                                  style “bop” rhythm that underscores the conflict
      an opportunity for members of relatively   Written for Jon Hodkin of InnerTuba. A composition   between the Sharks and the Jets.
      small, unbalanced bands to take in the thrill   for solo tuba with wind band to reflect Jon’s journey
      of playing in a 40-piece band with players   across the country on his recumbent bike.  This
      on every part, and with sufficient numbers   arrangement was originally written for brass band,
      of experienced players to take the pressure   but we are delighted that Franner has agreed to
      off the novices. Repertoire was chosen for   arrange this work for a full wind band especially for
      the Spring Fling weekend, based on our   our weekend. You can read all about Franner and   “With just the right mix of
      firm conviction that musical development is   Jon at their websites:
      achieved through grappling with challenges.  www.frannerotter.com, www.innertuba.org.uk  laid-back congeniality and
                                           Mull Of The Cool Bens (Adrian Drover)
      At the start of 2017 repertoire was sought                                  concentrated musical focus.”
      of a wind band grading up to 4 / 5 and            One of the many traditional
      included new compositions alongside               Scottish airs arranged by
      standard repertoire. An emphasis on               Glasgows well known composer
                                                        and arranger Adrian Drover.
      Scottish based composers or arrangers was         The beauty of this piece comes
      the main element of the weekend, from the         from the lyrical flugal horn
      concert programme.                                sound and the simplicity of the
                                                        arrangement itself.
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